Predicament
by firefly827347
Summary: Major Lorne goes exploring and gets himself into trouble, meanwhile Dr. Beckett has a special delivery to make on the mainland. The last chapter is up! Please R&R.
1. Whacked

Sheppard was tired. He was more than tired. He was exhausted. But he couldn't let her see that. He and Teyla had been sparring for over an hour. She believed, and rightly so, that he needed the practice. "In a real fight", she would say scornfully, "you would not stand a chance." But, Sheppard being Sheppard, he had come up with the sarcastic retort that in a real fight, he would have shot her before she could ever get to him. However, John Sheppard also knew that occasionally (and past experience had made him painstakingly aware of this) he would find himself weaponless in the hands of the enemy, so he supposed it couldn't hurt to have a backup self-defence plan should he ever find himself in a similar situation.

'So much for "couldn't hurt",' he grumbled to himself, as he heaved himself up from the floor for the hundredth time, after being struck in the kneecaps with a wooden pole. 'I'm hurting all over'. He stifled a groan as he bent to pick up his own stick. His back was aching.

"You are not concentrating", said Teyla, with a note of amusement in her voice, expertly spinning her pole in her hand like a baton causing it to make a swishing sound. She found it rather entertaining to see a fit man such as the colonel at her complete mercy. "Every attack you make is without effort. You are not trying hard enough." She began to circle round him, casting shadows in the dim morning light that was streaking through the stained glass window.

"That's because I'm completely whacked." He replied, breathing heavily. "Literally". He added, looking up at her, and flashing her a weak smile.

"Do you think the Wraith will stop attacking you because you are "whacked"? She asked, trying to ignore his attempt to lighten the situation. She needed to remain serious. "Or the Genii?" She added. "I have heard that they excel at hand-to-hand combat. I am sure they will let you rest in between attempts at your life, Colonel."

John sighed. "Yeah, I'm sure they will. They're such nice people. I particularly liked that guy…what was his name? Oh yeah, Kolya." He said sarcastically, grimacing slightly as he recalled the cold voice of the Genii Commander who had killed two of his men and taken doctors Weir and McKay hostage, in an attempt to take the city of Atlantis under siege.

"I am sure that the Wraith will be just as sympathetic as the Genii." Teyla replied, sternly.

"Okay, okay. I get your point." He didn't need reminding about the Wraith. He'd had enough encounters with them to know that they had no fibre of sympathy in their bodies whatsoever. Or any other emotions for that matter. All they cared about was sucking the life from your body with their hands to satisfy their hunger. John tried to shake the thought of them from his mind. They had not encountered the Wraith for several weeks, and he didn't want to spoil the feeling of relief he was experiencing.

"Good." Teyla said, untying her hair from its pony tail and slipping the hair band around her wrist. "We will finish now. You may rest. However, I would like to continue at the same time tomorrow as you still evidently need the practice." She said with a smile, taking the stick from his hands and placing it in her rucksack, along with her own. John was slightly disgusted to see that she wasn't nearly as out of breath or as sweaty as he was. He rubbed his forehead with the black sweatband around his arm, and ran his fingers through his damp and somewhat ruffled dark hair, before realising that he was staring at the beautiful Athosian woman as she packed away her things. The light from the window was brighter now, and the golden rays reflected off her hair, making it shine. He shook himself, and picked up his own rucksack, wincing as he hoisted it onto his back. He didn't notice Teyla glancing up at him. She smiled to herself as he exhaled. She knew that no matter how much pain he was in, the colonel would do his best not let it show. He was too proud to let his team members see any weakness in their ranking officer. The only time she remembered seeing him in any real pain was when he had a two-foot long insect attached to his neck, leeching away his life as a Wraith would. She and Lieutenant Ford – Sheppard's second-in-command – had tried to remove it in several ways, each seemingly more painful to John than the last, until Ford had eventually shot it at point-blank range with his handgun. Teyla would never forget John's screams of agony as the creature drew the life from him to heal itself. He had almost died that day.

"Okay", he said, rousing her from her thoughts. "I need breakfast, and I need coffee. And I need them now."

"Mess hall?" She asked.

"Mess hall." He replied, before frowning suddenly.

"What is wrong?" Teyla said, puzzled at his change in mood.

"I'm just hoping that McKay hasn't eaten all the food", he said, flashing her a reassuring grin. "Let's go."


	2. Things To Do

Fortunately, McKay had not eaten all the food. He was too busy pestering the chef about whether he could have blue jello for dessert at lunch time instead of red. The chef rolled his eyes and said through gritted teeth that he'd see what he could do.

John smirked, sympathising with the chef, and poured himself a cup of coffee. Rodney McKay, the head scientist, was an irritating guy at the best of times. Sheppard picked up his tray and followed Teyla through the almost-empty room to a table out on the sun-lit balcony. He breathed in the ocean air and looked out over the city of Atlantis, which was slowly awakening after another night. Never before had John Sheppard felt more at home than when in the city. Even when he returned to Earth on the battle cruiser _Daedalus_, he always found himself desperate to return to the city of the Ancients. It seemed to have that effect on everyone, but this was of no surprise to John. The city was truly remarkable, for it was not just a city, it was also a spaceship. A spaceship that until almost two years ago, had lain on the ocean floor for 10,000 years, after being submerged by its creators. The Ancients – the builders of the stargates, had been forced to sink and abandon Atlantis due to the increasing threat of the Wraith. The Ancients had then returned to Earth through the stargate, and so the city had remained untouched for 100 centuries, until a group of people from Earth managed to re-establish the wormhole from Earth to Atlantis and set up home.

However, it was not all plain sailing. As soon as the team arrived, they discovered that the shield holding back the ocean was about to fail. As evacuation plans were put into place, the city suddenly experienced a full shield failure. But thanks to a fail-safe system put in place by a resourceful Ancient, the mechanism holding the city to the ocean floor shut down, and Atlantis began to rise until it came to rest on the surface of the water. And so it has remained since then, an amazing spectacle for anyone with an aerial view – an entire city in the middle of the ocean.

John exhaled and sat down, taking a sip of coffee.

"Better?" asked Teyla.

"Mmm." John replied, inhaling the strong aroma. "I'm not gonna be able to walk for days though" he added with a smile. "I don't think I have any more muscles left to pull."

"Perhaps tomorrow we should spend more time warming up." She replied. "We need to make you more….flexible." John raised his eyebrows. "How else will you manage high kicks?" Teyla added, ignoring his response.

"What sort of warm up did you have in mind?" asked John innocently.

"Oh, I believe a 30 minute run should suffice." She said, smiling at the look of disgust John was suddenly giving her. "If we start early, we are unlikely to get in anyone's way."

"Define 'early'", he replied cautiously.

"How does 5 o'clock sound?"

"Oh, perfect." John said sarcastically. "I can't wait."

"Good morning Colonel, Teyla" said the familiar voice of one Rodney McKay, who had appeared behind Teyla holding a cup of coffee.

John looked up and nodded, Teyla returned the greeting. "A bit early for you, isn't it Colonel?" Rodney directed at John with raised eyebrows.

"Colonel Sheppard and I have been training." Teyla replied, ignoring the dirty look John was giving Rodney, cutting him off from the sarcastic response he was about to give the scientist.

"Hmm. Really."

"Yeah", John said, surprisingly cheerfully. "In fact, we were planning on going for a half-hour run tomorrow morning. Why don't you join us?" Teyla looked at him questioningly, wondering what he was up to. "You could bring Lieutenant Cadman, I've heard she likes a good morning run." John winked at Teyla.

"Oh yes, ha ha. That's very witty, colonel. My sides are splitting." Rodney said trying not to show how awkward he suddenly felt, as he recalled the memory of having Laura Cadman's mind trapped in his body after an encounter with a Wraith device. She had found ways of manipulating the scientist's body when he was asleep, including going for an un-Rodney-like jog resulting in several pulled leg muscles, as well as many more experiences too embarrassing to mention.

"Anyway, I couldn't if I wanted to." McKay added. "I have things to do."

"Oh. That's a shame." John replied, unconvincingly. "Maybe another time."

"Hmm. Maybe. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to um… I have things to do."

"Please, do not let us keep you if you are busy", Teyla said, relieved that the sarcastic exchanges were coming to an end. The pair had been known to go on for much longer.

"Yes, of course, uh, thank you Teyla." said the scientist, taking a last swig of coffee and walking towards the door, placing his mug on the counter as he left.

"You really cannot help yourself, can you?" Teyla asked John, who was just finishing his own cup of coffee.

"What? It's just a bit of fun. Besides, it's McKay. He needs to lighten up."

"Perhaps. But you know, you are not as dissimilar as you think." She replied with a slight gleam in her eye, as she rose from the table.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me. No _way_ am I like that guy. I'm not all…" He waved his arms about. "Neurotic." John finished with a decisive nod.

"Hmm. Well, if you'll excuse me colonel, I promised Halling that I would visit the mainland today. I have not seen my people in some time."

"Sure, d'you want me to fly you out in a Jumper?"

"No, I will be alright. Dr. Beckett has already said he will take me, he has some medical examinations to perform anyway." She said. "But thank you for the offer."

"Okay, well, I'll uh… I'll see you later then."

Teyla nodded, and started to follow McKay out of the door.

"Be careful!" John called after her. "You know what Carson's flying's like." He grinned.

Teyla turned to face him. "He is improving" she replied with a smile, before continuing out the door, placing her tray next to Rodney's mug as she went.

'Yeah, but "improving" isn't always good enough.' He said to himself as he watched her go.

Suddenly, John's radio crackled.

"Colonel Sheppard?" said a familiar voice on the other end.

John tapped his receiver. "What is it, Lorne?" He replied to the small microphone attached to his earpiece.

"Uh, you might wanna come deal with this sir." He said, sounding exasperated. We're in the Jumper bay. I'd be grateful for some…assistance, sir." John could hear raised voices in the background.

"On my way, Major." John sighed. He got up and placed his tray on top of Teyla's, before making his way out the door. He took a route that would allow him to pass his living quarters, and so he could stop off on the way to pick up his P-90 machine gun. Just in case. You never know what you might find in Atlantis. The Jumper bay was on the other side of the city, a large hanger originally filled with 12 cylindrical spaceships, affectionately named Puddle Jumpers by the colonel. However, over the past couple of years, several of the craft had been destroyed.

John wasn't too concerned about the incident Lorne mentioned, if it had been urgent the Major would have been more serious and informative. But, Lorne had specifically asked for his help, so he decided he'd better get there sooner rather than later. He doubled back to the mess hall and stopped when he reached the transporter that was next to the door. He walked in and pressed the area closest to the Jumper bay on the map of Atlantis that had appeared on the screen in front of him. The doors closed and reopened seconds later on the other side of the city. John was still amazed at the advanced level of technology the Ancients had mastered.

He walked through the doors to the hanger and saw Major Lorne standing with Carson, Rodney and the Czech scientist Dr. Radek Zelenka. From what he could hear, they were in the middle of a heated discussion. 'That explains all the shouting', John said to himself, remembering the radio message he had received from Major Lorne minutes earlier. Lorne was doing his best to talk over everyone, but with little success. John noticed that he was in his casual clothes, meaning it must be his day off. 'Poor guy', thought John. 'His day off and he has to deal with this lot.'

"Look, I have examinations to do on the mainland" came the familiar Scottish tones of Doctor Carson Beckett. "It's already been arranged. All my kit's here."

"And I've already told you," snapped Rodney "Zelenka and I are running diagnostics on the Jumpers. You can't take any of them out."

"Is that so?" Beckett replied in an irritated voice. "And who decided that you could do that then?"

"Uh, Doctor Weir did, actually." said Zelenka quietly. He wasn't as forward as McKay was.

"Well, that's rather odd, because I asked her yesterday if it was alright to travel to the mainland and she said yes!"

"Look-" began Lorne.

"GUYS!" yelled John, fed up with all the noise. As far as he was concerned, it was too early in the morning for an argument. Everyone jumped and turned to look at him, having not noticed him arrive minutes earlier.

"McKay," John said, speaking as calmly and rationally as he could manage despite the death glare he was getting from the scientist. "Would it be possible for you to let Carson and Teyla have one Jumper and run your tests on the others? Then, when they get back, you can have the Puddle Jumpers all to yourselves."

"Not really." said Rodney, exasperated. "Zelenka and I have to-"

"McKay." John said, amazed at his self-composure. It was easy to lose your temper with the Canadian scientist. "It wasn't a question."

"Well it sure as hell sounded like one" Rodney shot back.

"Okay then, maybe it _was_ a question. But it was rhetorical. Meaning that there's no flexibility in what I said."

"But Colonel Sheppard," Zelenka said. "We were just about to-"

"Look, if Carson has some medical exams to do, he can do them. Teyla hasn't seen her people in a couple'a weeks. They can have a Jumper."

Rodney rolled his eyes and sighed loudly. "Fine." He said, clearly irritated. "But don't blame me if something goes wrong…"

Carson smiled. "Right-o" he said. "Who wants to help me load this stuff up then?" He indicated to a large pile of equipment behind Lorne, and nodded at the nearest Puddle Jumper.

"Oh, I'm sure McKay and Zelenka will be more than happy to help", replied John, trying not to smirk. Rodney scowled. Zelenka sighed, and went to pick up one of the bags.

"Good." said John in as cheerful a voice as he could muster. "I'm glad it's all settled." He turned and started to walk away, Major Lorne jogged after him.

"Thanks for that, sir." He said, catching up to the colonel. "I was about ready to snap."

"Well, it's your day off, I thought I'd give you a break. Besides, you just gotta put your foot down occasionally. Order them if you have to."

"But they're not military, I thought we couldn't give them direct orders?"

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But McKay knows that we're the ones that keep having to save his ass every time he gets in trouble. So…he usually does something if you tell him." John replied. "I mean, yeah, he kicks up a stink and sighs and moans and goes in the huff for hours, but you just have to remind him of the last time you shot the guy that was about to floor him – he soon gets the message."

"I like your thinking, sir." Lorne answered with a smile. "I'll have to save McKay's life more often."

"Well, I try and do it as infrequently as possible." John added with a mischievous grin, walking into the transporter. "Keeps him on his toes." Lorne laughed and watched the door close behind the Colonel.


	3. Go For Launch

"Are we almost ready to leave, Doctor Beckett?" asked Teyla as she walked into the Jumper bay.

"Aye love, I think so." The doctor replied in his broad Scottish accent. "Rodney's just helping me load up the last of my equipment, and then we're all set. How about you?"

"We are ready to leave when you are." She replied, as she strapped her handgun holster to her thigh.

"We?" Carson asked.

"Ronon has asked if he may join us. I did not think it would be a problem." She replied.

"Not at all, love. There's plenty room."

"Yeah, well, remember, if something goes wrong, don't blame me." Rodney said as he emerged from the rear of the Jumper, out of breath from loading the last piece of equipment.

"Should there be cause for concern, Doctor McKay?" Teyla asked.

"Well I don't know, because Nessie McHaggis here insisted on leaving for the mainland before I had a chance to run a diagnostic on the Jumper." Rodney snapped, gesturing at Carson. "And Colonel Sheppard agreed with him over me as usual, so if you crash, blame those two."

"And why would we crash, Doctor McKay?"

"Have you seen Beckett try to fly one of these things?"

"Oi! I can pilot one better than you can." Carson replied indignantly. "After all, you even admitted me that you can't even fly one in a straight line." He added with a slight grin. Rodney gave the doctor a dirty look and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "sheep-herder", before turning abruptly and stalking away.

"Oh dear." Carson said, chuckling. "He's not in a very good mood today, is he?"

"It appears that way," replied Teyla, smiling. "Ah", she added, "Here is Ronon now." She said, as the tall, dreadlocked man walked into the hanger, narrowly missing Rodney who tutted, waved his arms and sauntered through the door. Ronon glanced back at Rodney, raised his eyebrows at the pair, and grinned.

"Who upset him this time?" He asked, walking towards them, his dreadlocks swaying with every stride.

"That would be me." Carson said with a sigh. "We'd better be off then."

"I'm ready when you are" Ronon replied. "Which ship is it?"

"This one." Carson nodded to the nearest Jumper. "Let's go."

The trio walked around to the back of the Jumper and up the ramp, entering the rear hatch of the craft. Carson sat in the pilot's seat, and placed his hand on the control panel, which lit up at his touch. Carson was one of the lucky few that possessed a unique gene that enabled him to use Ancient technology. However, he was not always happy about it, as past experiences with certain devices had got him into some trouble.

"All set?" Carson enquired. Teyla and Ronon nodded, and smiled at the doctor, trying to reassure him. They knew he rather disliked flying. "Right, here we go. I hope you're strapped in…" He activated the controls that released the roof hatch, and it slowly retracted, allowing a shaft of bright morning light to shine through the widening gap onto the floor.

"Flight", Carson said into the radio. "This is Jumper One. We're go for launch."

"Jumper One, this is flight. You're good to go." said the familiar voice of Elizabeth Weir, the expedition leader, down the radio. "Good luck, Carson."

"Aye, I'm gonna need it. Thank you, Doctor Weir."

Carson activated the Jumper and manoeuvred it up and out of the bay, until they burst into the sunlight.

"Here goes." muttered Carson, as he increased speed, a look of deep concentration on his face.


	4. Admitting Defeat

"What's their status?" Weir asked the flight technician.

"Jumper One has just left the city perimeter." He said, looking at some data on the screen in front of him.

"Good, let me know if anything happens. You know what Carson's like." She replied to the young man with a smile.

"Yes ma'am." He smiled back, and looked up at the main control screen.

"Ah, Elizabeth." said Rodney, walking into the control room, followed closely by Zelenka.

"Good morning, Rodney. What can I do for you?" replied Weir, knowing exactly what he wanted. Sheppard had radioed her some time ago to warn her that McKay was on the warpath.

"Well I was just wondering why you let a Puddle Jumper out when you specifically told me that we could run diagnostics on all of them today." He asked, with a note of annoyance in his voice. However, Rodney McKay knew better than to get angry with Elizabeth Weir. She could give just as good as she got.

"Yes, I do recall saying that. However, Teyla received word from Halling that one of the Athosian women was experiencing difficulties with a pregnancy, so Dr. Beckett was anxious to get to the mainland and examine her. I couldn't see a problem with that." Weir replied, knowing that she had Rodney beaten. She knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't have bothered asking why Carson needed to get to the mainland so urgently.

"Ah. Right. Well, someone could've told me." Rodney said, finally admitting defeat.

"Someone did tell you, Rodney. Carson informed you he was taking a Jumper."

"Mmm. Yes, well…"

Weir smiled. "Coffee?" she asked the scientist, knowing that that would distract him. She pointed at the flask she had made moments earlier.

"Oh, well…yes. Thank you." He replied, pouring himself a mug.

"How about you, Doctor Zelenka?" She asked the Czech, who was hovering by one of the control panels, looking at one of the screens. He turned to face her.

"Um, no thank you, Doctor Weir." He said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I have something I need to get on with. Perhaps some other time."

"Of course, Radek. Don't let me keep you." He smiled, turned, and walked away.


	5. Darkness

Lorne sighed. He had only been up for three hours and already he was tired. Though trying to argue with Rodney McKay had that effect on people. It was supposed to be his day off, but he had coincidently been passing the Jumper bay when he heard the argument break out. Luckily, it didn't get too heated, and the Major had managed to get Colonel Sheppard to come and sort out McKay.

Lorne would've put more effort into dealing with Rodney himself, but for the fact that he was eager for some time away from duty. He had worked hard to get here, Atlantis, the mission most military personnel dreamed about being a part of – those that knew about it anyway – but he had barely had much time to himself since his arrival.

He walked through the hallways of the great city and pondered what to do with himself. He still didn't know the city all that well, but he was learning. There were still areas, however, that were off-limits until more research had been done on those particular sections. That narrowed the area open to him down to about 80. Most of that he knew, such as the control room, living quarters, infirmary, science labs, Jumper bay, mess hall and the armoury.

'Okay', he thought to himself, 'that leaves me a smaller area to play with.' He made his way towards the nearest transporter and pressed a section on the map that was unknown to him. Seconds later, he was facing a hallway on the opposite side of the city. Like the Colonel, Ancient technology fascinated him, and he was lucky enough to have the gene that allowed him to use it to its full potential.

'Right. Now what?' he asked himself. He emerged from the transporter and made his way down the hallway that lay in front of him. It looked the same as most of the other hallways he had been in, modern and enclosed with lights running down the pillars and columns of illuminated bubbling water. There were small windows at regular intervals, decorated with the same stained glass that filled the windows throughout the city. He came to a stairway that lead downwards, when he suddenly remembered he had forgotten to bring his radio. 'Ah well,' he thought, 'What's the worst that could happen? If I get lost, I'll just go back the way I came.' He made his way down the stairs, and arrived at another hallway, this one considerably darker than the previous one, however, it looked like most of the others he had seen. There were three ways to go, so Lorne picked the middle one. He was halfway down it when the lights went off, plunging the corridor into darkness. 'Great' he said to himself. 'Now what do I do? I have no idea where the hell I am.' A dim light came on somewhere at the end of the hallway, so he continued the way he was going, and emerged into some sort of boiler room. Well, that's what he assumed it was. It was warm and humid, and he could just make out the shapes of pipes spreading throughout the room. He could see through the dim light that there was steam coming out of one of them. He couldn't tell if it was damaged or not, but he was sure it wasn't supposed to do that; it was making the floor wet. The light he had seen was coming from a door panel on the wall. 'Huh.' He thought. 'That's odd, this light only came on when the door opened. Why did it open?'

Suddenly, Lorne felt another presence in the room. He saw a movement to his left by the door he had just come in out the corner of his eye. His hand slid to the sidearm strapped to his leg, and whipping it from its holster, he spun to his left. There was nothing there. Lorne frowned and turned back the way he had been facing, and was suddenly hurled into the air. The last thing he remembered was the aching in his back as he slammed against the far wall, and then complete darkness, as he slipped into unconsciousness.


	6. Probably Nothing

"Huh." said Rodney, through a mouthful of sandwich.

"What?" said the technician sitting to his right.

"Oh, probably nothing. Just a power outage in a small north-west section of the city." Rodney pointed to an area on the map of Atlantis on the screen in front of him, where a small section was flashing in red.

"We've not looked through that section properly yet, but there seems to be a maintenance area there for the plumbing and heating systems." replied the technician, bringing up a data screen on his laptop.

"Meh." The Canadian responded, still chewing. "Keep an eye on it, it might just be a fluctuation. Lemme know if it changes"

"Yes, Doctor McKay."


	7. Unnoticed

The first thing Lorne saw when he opened his eyes was darkness. Then the pain hit him. A sudden jolt down his left arm, a sharp pain in his chest, and a dull throb at the back of his head. He tried to move his right arm to see if there was blood, and realised that his hands were bound together behind his back. He was face down on the floor. He vaguely remembered being thrown in the air and hitting a wall before he blacked out. 'What the hell…?' he thought wearily. Suddenly, a hand roughly grabbed him and forced him to sit up. He stifled a yelp, the hand had grabbed his left shoulder, and caused another stab of pain to shoot down his arm and across his chest, not to mention the abrupt movement had startled him. But the jolt of pain was nothing compared to the shock he felt when he saw his attacker. Facing him, was a pale-skinned, long-haired creature with sunken eyes and a ruthless glare that would strike fear into the bravest of people. Lorne was looking at a Wraith. It snarled at him and stood up, making it look even more menacing, as Lorne was sitting on the ground completely defenceless.

Lorne analysed his situation. He was alone in an unknown area of the city with a Wraith, tied up in the dark, probably with a broken arm and a couple of cracked ribs, and he was weaponless – the Wraith was dangling his gun holster in its hand. He also had no way of calling for backup. 'Great. I'm a dead man', he thought to himself. 'And I'm also talking like McKay, which is never a good thing.' Lorne looked up at the Wraith.

"How did you get in here?" He said, trying to ignore the pain in his upper body. The Wraith had bound his hands tightly.

"What is that to you, human?" The Wraith hissed.

"Well, I'd like to know, so that when my team comes in here and busts your ass, I can let them know what they did wrong by letting you go unnoticed." He said daringly, successfully hiding his fear.

The Wraith snarled again. "No one is coming."

Lorne swallowed. "What makes you say that?"

The creature smiled, and it sent a chill down the Major's spine. "No one has been down here for some time."

Lorne's heart sank. He was in a restricted area of the city. He must have pressed the wrong area on the transporter panel.

"You are all alone, human." It smiled again. "It is just you…and me."


	8. Isolated Failure

_Thanks to all those who are reviewing! Much appreciated. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update after this coz my exams are coming up but I'll do my best. The exams'll be done in a few weeks._

* * *

"Any changes?" Rodney asked the technician, looking up at the control screen. 

"Negative. There's a limited level of power to some of the systems such as the doors and heating controls, but nothing for the lights."

"Hmm. Is it just that area of the city?" said Rodney, taking a sip of coffee.

"Yup." The technician replied.

"Okay. Check and see if any of the Naquahdah generators have experienced a failure."

"Already done, Doctor McKay." The technician smiled. It was rare to be one step ahead of the scientist, and he was going to savour it.

"Oh. And?" replied Rodney, with a hint of annoyance.

"Nothing, sir. All generators are in perfect order. And there have been no fluctuations in power output over the past several hours. It must be an isolated failure."

"Well of course it must be isolated," said Rodney, rolling his eyes. "How else would you explain it?"

"How else would you explain what?" asked Weir, emerging from her office at the sound of Rodney's agitated voice. It was not an uncommon thing to hear, and she had learned from experience to detect it early before he managed to get into a full-blown rant.

"There's been a drop in energy levels in an un-explored section of the city, just off the north-west pier." Rodney said, pointing at the map, which was still blinking in that area.

"Have you checked the Naquahdah generators?"

"They're all fine. No change in power output around the time of the failure." The technician replied.

"Hmm. What about the ZPM?" Weir asked, looking closer at the screen.

"It doesn't control the power to that area of the city, and anyway, it's not in use at the moment." Rodney said.

"If that area is restricted, then why was power on in that section in the first place?"

"There's a maintenance room in that section for the heating and plumbing, some of the systems require a small amount of energy to run. And the lights that were on in the section were running at low power levels anyway. Only now, that section has experienced an almost complete failure." Rodney replied. "No lights, and very little power to the control systems."

"If that section controls heating and plumbing, then why hasn't it been checked out?"

"Well, a preliminary check was made when we first swept the city, but when the systems became operational again after we arrived in Atlantis, that whole section came back online by itself. There was no need to check it, it's never presented any difficulty. We reduced the energy output to that area when we first scanned the mainframe for unnecessary systems, but we've never had a problem until now." Rodney said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Well, if you don't mind Rodney, I'd like you to take a closer look at this. Perhaps you can check the Jumpers later?" Weir said, knowing Rodney wouldn't be very happy.

He sighed. "Fine. Zelenka's already started on the Jumpers. He'll just have to manage without me for a little while longer." Rodney said, leaning closer to his laptop and finishing his coffee. He tapped his radio receiver. "Radek?"

His radio crackled. "Yes, Rodney?"

"Uh, I've got something I gotta take care of in the control room, you gonna be okay down there without me for a while?"

"I'm sure I can manage." came the response. Elizabeth smiled. Radek Zelenka rarely mocked Rodney, but when he did it was amusing to hear.

"Huh." said Rodney, put out slightly. "Good. Well, I'll be down later."

"Take your time, McKay. Everything's fine down here." Zelenka replied.

"Good, that's settled then. Rodney, find out what's going on, and keep me updated." said Weir, walking towards her office.

"Yes, yes, yes." Rodney replied impatiently, focusing on his computer screen. He reached for his coffee cup and suddenly remembered it was empty. Without looking up, he thrust it in the direction of the technician. "Get me another coffee, would you? Oh, and another one of those powerbars. I'm about to pass out from hunger."

The technician rolled his eyes, muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "faint", snatched the cup from the scientist and stalked away.


	9. Feeling The Heat

Lorne was hot. Too hot. He was burning up, and he was soaking wet. The Wraith had sat him near the steaming pipe, and the Major was feeling the heat. Lorne had been with the creature for a little over thirty minutes, and the fact that it had displayed no signs of wanting to suck the life out of him made Lorne edgy. For some reason, not knowing what the Wraith was up to was worse than thinking he was about to die.

"Hey. You." The Wraith, who had been looking at a control panel near one of the pipes, glanced up at him.

"You got a name?"

The Wraith returned to his gaze to the panel, without responding.

"Okay… Well, everyone's gotta have a name." Lorne said, and smiled for the first time in half an hour as he remembered stories of Colonel Sheppard naming captured Wraith.

"How about Gordon?"

The Wraith did not look up.

"Yeah. Gordon. You look like a Gordon. So, whatcha doin', Gordon?"

"That is of no concern to you, human", the Wraith growled.

"Huh. Well, seeing as I live here, and my friends live here, I'd say it was my concern." Lorne said, wincing slightly as he accidentally shifted his arm. The Wraith ignored him. Lorne noticed his handgun sitting on the panel next to the Wraith.

"So, Gordon," Lorne began, eyeing the gun. "Are you gonna eat me already or do I have to cook to death first? I thought you guys liked your dinner… raw?"

The Wraith looked up again and glanced at the steaming pipe. Without saying anything, he walked towards the Major and dragged him to a cooler area of the room, before returning to the panel. Lorne was in agony, the creature had dragged him by his left arm again, but he was glad to be away from the pipe. However, unfortunately, he could no longer see his gun. He was also astonished that the Wraith had bothered to move him. Usually Wraith didn't care how you felt, as long as you were alive when they started feeding on you. 'But then again', thought Lorne, 'maybe he thought I'd die from the heat. Maybe he's just tryin' to keep me alive until he's finished whatever he's doing, and then he'll kill me.'

"Uh… thanks", Lorne said, hoping to keep the creature sweet. He didn't particularly want it to suck the life out of him. The Wraith grunted and moved to a different panel, studying it just as closely as it had the first one.

Lorne could see a lot better now. Before it was just a dark haze, now he could make out shapes. The room seemed larger than he'd first thought, and it had a high ceiling. As he looked up, another sharp pain shot suddenly down Lorne's arm and torso, and he yelped. The Wraith's head snapped up.

"What is it, human?"

"My arm. I think it's broken. These bonds are diggin' in a hell of a lot. Think you could do somethin' about that?"

"No." The Wraith looked down again.

"Didn't think so." Lorne said. "And it's Lorne by the way."

"What is Lorne?" The Wraith looked up at him again, slightly puzzled. It was an unusual expression to see on the face of a Wraith.

"My name. I'm not called 'human', my name is Lorne."

"Very well." said the Wraith, and it turned away from him.


	10. On The Ground

_I'm sorry my chapters are so short but for some reason, they seem longer in my head than they do on the page lol. Please review, I'm getting loads of hits but very few reviews! This chapter isn't all that great but there's still a bit of background to do before it gets better. (Well, slightly better...) Thanks for reading!_

* * *

Carson Beckett circled over the camp in the Puddle Jumper and spotted a suitable landing site nearby.

"Here we go", he said to his two passengers. "Hold tight."

He hovered the Jumper over his chosen site and started to descend. They landed with a slight bump; he wasn't as good at landings as Colonel Sheppard was.

Carson let out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, and flicked the controls that shut off the power and released the rear hatch. Teyla and Ronon stood up and hauled their rucksacks onto their backs.

"Thank you, Dr. Beckett." Teyla said, smiling at the doctor, who looked rather relieved to finally be on the ground.

"No problem, love." He smiled back. Would one of you be able to give me a hand with all of this?" He gestured at the medical equipment that McKay and Zelenka had reluctantly packed away earlier.

"I'll do it", Ronon said to Teyla. "You go see whoever it was you wanted to see."

"Thank you, Ronon." She replied, and made her way out of the Jumper.

A group of Athosians had already gathered around the spacecraft, and greeted Teyla, their leader, with warm smiles.

"Halling!" She called to her bearded friend. "It has been many days. It is wonderful to see you again. All of you." She beamed at them, and placing her hands on his shoulders, bowed her head towards him.

"And you, Teyla." He replied, bowing his head so it touched hers, in the traditional Athosian greeting. He stood up and smiled. "Come, Jinto and the other children have missed you. He gestured to his son, who was with a group of children at the opposite end of the camp, and she walked towards them, greeting each of her people as she went. Halling moved closer to the rear of the Jumper, and peered inside. "Good morning, Dr. Beckett."

"Good morning, Halling. How are you today?" replied the doctor cheerfully, hauling his medical kit onto his shoulders.

"I am well, thank you."

"And what of our expectant patient?" Carson said, walking our the back of the Jumper to meet the Athosian.

"Eryn is resting, for now. The others tell me that she was in some pain very early this morning."

"Right-o. We'd best be off then. Lead the way." Carson said, before remembering that Ronon was still in the Jumper. He turned to him. "Ronon lad, if you could just follow me with that red bag, son. Thanks." Ronon nodded, and picking up the heavy bag with ease, followed the doctor and his guide towards the village.


	11. Sorry I Asked

_I hope you enjoy this chapter, it very nearly wasn't put up today because I have a physics exam in about 3 hours but I felt generous. Please review!_

* * *

John exhaled and rubbed his neck. Teyla had given him a good beating, and he was gonna pay for it in the morning. 'I dunno how the hell I'm manage to run flat out for 30 minutes', he groaned to himself. 'I can barely walk right now.'

He rounded the corner of the hallway and came to the door of his living quarters. He waved his hand over the illuminated panel on the wall, and the door slid smoothly open with a hiss. John walked into his room, dumped his P-90 on his bed and flung his rucksack and towel on the floor, as the door hissed shut behind him. It was well into the morning now, and the light from the window made his room glow. He was still rather hot and sweaty from his sparring session, so he pulled off his t-shirt and put on a new one, tossing the worn one on the floor next to his towel. John sat on the end of his bed and picked up the book that was lying on his chair: "War and Peace". He opened it, read a few lines and screwed up his face, before chucking back on the chair. He rubbed his neck again, and was just about to lie back when his radio crackled, making him jump slightly.

"Colonel Sheppard?" came Zelenka's voice in his ear.

He tapped his receiver. "Yeah?"

"Um, it's Dr. Zelenka. Are you busy at the moment?" the Czech scientist asked in his usual polite tone.

"Not really," John said into his microphone, suppressing a yawn. "There something I can do for you?"

"Uh, yes. I was wondering if you could perhaps come down to the Jumper bay for a few moments. I'm running diagnostics on one of ships and I need you to activate some of the controls."

"Can't Beckett do it?" John replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes.

"He is on the mainland with Teyla and Ronon. It will only take a few moments."

"Yeah, alright, I'll be right there." John said, heaving himself up off the bed.

He waved his hand across the door panel and made his way down to the hanger. He spotted Zelenka inside one of the Puddle Jumpers, who looked up and greeted him with a slight wave. John walked towards it and made his way up the ramp. Zelenka was surrounded by wires and control crystals from the open panel above one of the seats.

"So, what d'you need me to turn on?" John asked the scientist.

"If you could just raise the cloaking device for a few moments, Colonel…" He looked down and pressed a key on his laptop.

John walked over to the main controls, navigating through the equipment on the floor, and sat in the pilot's seat. He touched the panel in front of him, which sprang to life. Almost instantly, the Jumper read his thoughts and went into cloak mode, turning completely invisible. John turned to look at Zelenka.

"How's that?"

"That's good, thank you. If you could just continue that for a few more moments…" He pulled another crystal from the open panel and typed something on his laptop, which beeped. Zelenka smiled, and replaced the crystal, along with two others. He looked up. "Thank you, Colonel. That will be all."

John stood up, and the lights on the control panel went out. He smiled and started to walk away, then turned back to face the scientist.

"What exactly are you doing, anyway?"

"Dr. McKay and I are running a diagnostics program on the Jumper's main functional controls." Zelenka replied, gesturing to the panel on the wall. "You see, Rodney came up with a theory about integrating the control crystals which regulate power output to the cloaking device with the main shield generator to–"

"Uh, yeah, okay." John said, backing away and grinning. "Sorry I asked."

Zelenka smiled and pushed his glasses further up his nose. "Well, you _did_ say exactly."

"Yeah, well, remind me not mention the word 'exactly' to a scientist ever again." John called over his shoulder as he walked back towards the door. Zelenka chuckled and returned his gaze to his laptop.


	12. Reassurance

_Sorry this one's another short chapter, but to those who have been asking about Lorne, he returns in the next chapter! Please review!_

* * *

"How is Eryn?" Teyla asked Carson, who emerged, followed by Ronon, from the tent in which the pregnant woman lay. He looked concerned.

"Well, I've discovered why she was in so much pain." The doctor replied in a serious voice. Teyla gave him a questioning look. "She's going into labour. I'd expect her to give birth within the next day or so. The pain she was experiencing was the start of her contractions."

"That is wonderful news." Teyla said. "What happens now?"

"Well," Carson said, "I'm going to need some extra kit brought from the lab. I need to determine exactly when we'll have a new wee baby on our hands. I'm just off to radio back and see if Colonel Sheppard can fly over the rest of my gear."

"May I be of any assistance?" Teyla asked anxiously. "Eryn is a good friend."

"Well, it's her first baby, so she'll probably be a wee bit scared. I think the best thing you can do love, is be there to give her some reassurance." Carson said, smiling.

"Of course. Please, let me know if I can be of any more help." Teyla said, returning the smile.

"Aye, love. I'll be back in a few minutes." He said, patting Teyla on the arm and nodding at Ronon, before turning and walking back towards the Jumper.


	13. Trickling Water

_I felt that it was unfair putting up such a short chapter so I decided to do this one too. Please review!_

* * *

Lorne opened his eyes and found himself alone. The Wraith had gone. The Major wasn't sure whether to be worried or pleased. He was also wet again, he was now sitting in a pool of water.

'I must have passed out or something', he thought. It dawned on him that the water must have spread right across the floor from the puddle he had first seen on arrival.

'How long was I out?' He said to himself, knowing that at the rate the water had been leaking from the pipe, it would have taken hours to reach him.

He then noticed, with some concern, a new sound had joined the hissing of the steam and gurgle of the pipes. Through the darkness, he could hear trickling water, a sound that definitely hadn't been there before. Another pipe was leaking, and Lorne had a sudden feeling that it wasn't an accident, just as the Wraith walked back into the room.

"Hey, Gordon." Lorne said as cheerfully as he could. The Wraith grunted at him. "You by any chance noticed the wet stuff creepin' across the floor?" Gordon looked at him and slowly started to grin.

'Now that's somewhat unsettling', Lorne thought. 'Never seen a Wraith _that_ happy.' The Wraith glanced at the water.

"Very observant of you…Lorne." It spat the last word.

"Oh, well, thank you." Lorne replied sarcastically. "So, you gonna do anything about it or are you just gonna let this place…" Lorne's eyes widened and a look of realisation crossed his face. "…flood?" The Wraith looked at him.

"That's your plan, ain't it Gordon? Flood the room. Bit of an extreme way to kill me, ain't it, when you can just reach over and suck the life outta me with your hands…"

"The water is all part of the plan." The Wraith said, menacingly.

"Plan. Right. That would be….?" The Major replied. The Wraith said nothing. Instead, it disappeared out of sight for a few moments, before returning and walking towards Lorne with something in it's hand. As it neared, Lorne realised that the object belonged to him. It was his handgun.

"You uh, you might wanna be a little bit careful with that, Gordon." Lorne said nervously. The Wraith stopped a few feet from his feet, stared at him for a few seconds, and cocked the gun. It then pointed the weapon at Lorne's head. Lorne closed his eyes, and a shot rang out through the room.


	14. Concerned

_This chapter is really two chapters but seeing as nothing happens in between them I thought I might as well put both up. Lorne is back in the next chapter, I promise. Please review! Hope you like it._

* * *

John sighed and made his way up the main stairs of Atlantis from the gate area to the control room. Elizabeth Weir was waiting for him at the top with a smile on her face.

"Colonel", she said nodding her head in greeting.

He sighed again. "You rang?" he said, pointing to his earpiece.

"Yes. I need you to head down to the Jumper bay." She replied.

John gave her a look of disgust and sighed for the third time. "Again?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I've been down there twice this morning already. I think I might end up sleeping in the damn place." Elizabeth ignored his last comment.

"Dr. Beckett needs someone to fly out to the mainland with some more equipment for Eryn." John gave her a puzzled look. "The pregnant Athosian woman."

"Ah. Her." John said, looking uncomfortable at the prospect of being around someone so hormonal.

"Yes. Her. Carson say's she'll be having her first baby very soon." Elizabeth said, smiling to herself at the look on John's face.

"And you need _me_ to do it because….?" John groaned.

"Because I'm asking you to." Weir replied with the tone all too familiar with all members of the expedition. She had a way of saying things cheerfully but in a way that means 'you're not gonna win this one'. And John Sheppard knew this argument was a lost cause.

"Okay, okay. Fine. I'll do it." He said, defeated.

"Good. Carson's equipment's already down there waiting for you. Have a safe trip." She said, with an amused expression, as the Colonel slumped his shoulders in defeat and made his way back down the stairs.

oOo

Sheppard circled around the village in the Puddle Jumper he had managed to make off with while Zelenka was distracted. There would be hell to pay from the Czech when he got back, but John was sure a quiet word from Elizabeth would keep Radek sweet. It was common knowledge that pretty much anything Elizabeth said to Zelenka kept him sweet. For several hours.

He spotted the Jumper that Beckett had parked just outside the village and saw that the doctor was waiting for him. He landed the craft smoothly and opened the rear hatch.

"Hello again, Colonel Sheppard."

"Carson." John nodded in greeting. "Hope I brought everything you need."

"Aye, it looks like it." Carson replied with a broad smile, while looking around at the cargo in the ship. He gestured at it. "Any chance you could help me shift this lot to the village then, Colonel?"

John sighed. He knew it would hurt like hell to carry the stuff after the hammering he got from Teyla that morning. But, somewhere in the village, a woman was about to pop out her first kid, and he knew that right now, she was more important than a few extra pulled muscles. He lifted the heaviest-looking one onto his shoulders; the last thing he needed was for Carson to get injured as well. Despite Beckett's bulk, the thing on Sheppard's back was damn heavy, so John doubted the doctor could manage it. And Beckett was, on occasion, a bit of a wet blanket when it came to hard graft. He liked to leave that to the marines.

Carson picked up a laptop and a medical bag, and the two men exited the ship.

"So what did Rodney say about you stealing another one of his precious Jumpers?" Carson asked, grinning mischievously. Both Beckett and Sheppard liked nothing more than to wind up McKay.

"Uh, not a lot, actually." John replied, wincing slightly at the discovery of another bruise. "He's working on something else right now. Some sort of power failure in a restricted part of Atlantis. It was Zelenka I had to watch out for."

"Oh well, Radek's hissy fits aren't as bad as Rodney's." Carson said, smiling. _No one's_ hissy fits were as bad as Rodney's.

"I'm not so sure about that, have you heard those two arguing? They bicker like a couple of girls!" John replied, remembering the last time he had witnessed the two men having a dispute. Rodney had looked ready to chew Zelenka's head off, and Radek was yelling at high speed in Czech. It didn't take a brilliant scientist to work out the gist of what he was saying. John had therefore made a hasty retreat. As had most of the science team.

"Aye, well, I've heard you and Rodney having a good go at each other too, Colonel." Carson teased. "You pair can bring on a headache as well, you know."

John opened his mouth to say something sarcastic in reply when he spotted Ronon running towards them. Not that he was difficult to spot, the guy was huge. John raised his hand to wave, but then noticed Ronon's expression. Ronon Dex was not one for showing much emotion and rarely changed his facial expressions, but this was one of those rare occasions. Ronon looked concerned.

"Dr. Beckett!" He called, catching up to them. He wasn't even out of breath. "Teyla sent me to find you. The pregnant woman's in a lot of pain, she's been yelling a hell of a lot. You can hear her from the other side of the village."

Carson paled slightly and started running in the direction of the Athosian camp, followed closely by Ronon. John thought about groaning but realised that now was not an appropriate time. If Beckett was worried then it was definitely something to be concerned about. He shifted the weight on his shoulders and jogged after the men.


	15. Scarlet Droplets

_Lorne update, as promised. Hope you like it!_

* * *

Lorne wondered why he wasn't dead. The gunshot had been pretty much point blank and aimed at his head, there was no way he could have survived that. He didn't _feel _dead. He felt… wet. Wetter than he'd been before. Lorne slowly opened his eyes. The Wraith was still standing in front of him holding the gun. It was no longer pointed at the Major's head, but a few feet above him. Lorne realised that he was getting soaked from above. Looking up, he just managed to make out a pipe, and a steady stream of water pouring from somewhere about the size of a bullet hole. The Wraith was smiling.

"Now that was nasty, Gordon, makin' me think you were gonna shoot me." He said, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding .

"If I had wanted to kill you, _this_ would not be my method of choice." Gordon replied, brandishing the gun. "I have not fed in some time." He added. Lorne got his point.

"So why don't you then?" Lorne asked. "Kill me, I mean. It's not like I can fight back or anything, while I'm tied up like this." The Major suddenly wondered why he was pointing this fact out.

The Wraith cocked its head to one side and remained silent for a few moments, before clenching its teeth and hissing.

"I need you to complete my plan." It said, with some reluctance.

"Need me? What plan?" Lorne said, hoping that whatever he was needed for would take a long time so he could figure out a plan of his own. "Cause, you know, you still haven't filled me in on the details of that yet. And I can't exactly help you if I don't know what I'm supposed to help you with." The Wraith looked at him suspiciously before coming to the conclusion that the human was right.

"Tell me, Lorne, what do you think the other humans of Atlantis will do when they realise that the city is flooding and they have no way of stopping it, making it unsafe for everyone here?"

"Uh…" Lorne said, taken aback by the question. He thought for a moment, unsure whether to answer. "I guess they'd go to a safer place until they could figure out how to stop it flooding."

"And how would they get to that safer place?" The Wraith asked. Lorne had a feeling it already knew the answer, and it was just testing him.

"They would…gate offworld." Lorne realised where this was beginning to go. "Leaving the city unattended, and leaving a Wraith behind." Gordon smiled.

"Very good, Lorne. Once the humans have abandoned the city, I will have complete access to the stargate, and all of the information in this city."

"And let me guess, the address of the stargate on Earth?" The Major said in disgust.

"Exactly. The humans will not be able to stop me."

"Yeah, there are just a few flaws in your plan." Lorne answered. "Firstly, I doubt there's enough water in those pipes to flood this joint." He said, hoping he was right about that. "Secondly, you won't be able to access the information in the database OR the stargate. It's been programmed so that only humans can use it." Lorne emphasised the word humans, hoping to hide his blatant lie. "And thirdly, do you really think my people would be naïve enough to leave all of that information here for anyone to get at? Our scientists have figured out a way of taking the information with them, and deleting everything here. You wouldn't be able to access a thing." The Major knew this was untrue, McKay and Zelenka could only save a small proportion of the database, but hopefully the Wraith wouldn't know he was bluffing. "And besides, if the city becomes too dangerous for my people to remain, how do you think you'll manage to stay here?"

"That is where you come in." Gordon replied. "Once your people have left, you will enter the codes to shut the bulkhead doors to the control room. The area will remain safe while the rest of the city floods. I can then contact the others of my kind in this galaxy. Many will come, and we will all be able to gate to Earth. I am sure, after all, that you know the address to your home planet. If what you say is true about the database being erased, _you_ will give me the information I need."

"Oh, I will, will I?" Lorne said with contempt. "Sorry pal, not gonna happen. You're gonna have to suck the life outta me instead, because I'm never going to tell you anything."

The Wraith stood up abruptly, unnerving Lorne slightly. Lorne could tell it was angry from its body language, it had stiffened and was standing at its full height. It took a deep breath, looked at the Major, and smiled maliciously. The gun that had been in its hand the entire time was now pointed at Lorne's leg. The Major inhaled sharply and widened his eyes in horror. The Wraith squeezed the trigger. Lorne screamed. In the darkness, the pool of water he was sitting in became spotted with scarlet droplets.


	16. In Distress

_My exams are finally over so hopefully I'll be able to get chapters ip faster in future!_

* * *

Carson sprinted through the village and burst through the tent. He hadn't remembered which one it was, but Ronon was right. Eryn's cries were enough to give it away. Teyla looked up at his sudden arrival and gave him a look of relief. She was gripping the woman's hand tightly. Eryn was clearly in distress. 

"Okay love, I'm here. I'm here. Try and calm down a wee bit." He said, kneeling next to her and unzipping his medical kit. "Where's the pain coming from?"

Eryn pointed, and Carson examined her with an electronic scope. He gave a look of concern and reached over to switch on his laptop, connecting it to the scope, and moving it over the area again. He exhaled, just as Ronon and John entered the tent.

"What is wrong Dr. Beckett?" asked Teyla, worried.

"I was hoping to get Colonel Sheppard to fly Eryn and I back to Atlantis so that I could deliver the baby there, but it looks like I'm a wee bit too late." He looked at Sheppard and Ronon. "Gentlemen, if you could please deposit my equipment here and kindly wait outside."

John and Ronon looked at each other, put down the equipment and started to make a hasty retreat when the doctor stopped John.

"Actually, Colonel, could you please radio Atlantis and tell them that I'll need the incubator up and running asap? As soon as this baby is born, I'm taking Eryn and her child straight to the infirmary. The baby is slightly early and I want to make sure there are no further complications."

"Uh, sure." John replied. "D'you want me to see if I can park the Jumper any closer to the village? Might speed things later."

"Aye, that'd be a big help." Carson said gratefully. John nodded, smiled at Eryn and Teyla and left. Carson turned back to the women.

"Teyla love, I think now would be a good time to take you up on your offer of help." The doctor said, removing some more equipment from his bags.

"Of course, Dr. Beckett." She said, standing up. "What do you need me to do?"

"Well, for a start you could make sure there's room outside for the Colonel to land. I'll need to get this young lady to the Jumper as soon as possible after the baby's born, so it would be very helpful if he can park right outside."

"I will see to it at once." Teyla replied and disappeared out the tent. Beckett looked back at the pregnant woman and smiled reassuringly.

"Right then Eryn, let me see if I can make you a bit more comfortable."

He reached into his medical kit and produced a syringe and a bottle of meptazinol.

"Just a wee jab to ease the pain, okay love?"

Eryn nodded and screwed up her face in pain. He injected her and patted her on the shoulder.

"That should start to work in a wee while. We'll have this baby out in no time, don't you worry."

* * *

_I have no knowledge of medicines whatsoever and I looked on the internet about meptazinol so if it's wrong please let me know! It's used in the UK where I'm from so you may know it as something different. I think it's also known as meptid._


	17. Space Monkeys

_Hello again you nice people. I'm amazed you've been so patient with this! Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Here's the latest chapter - another 'double chapter'. I'm feeling generous coz England are winning their football (soccer) match against Jamaica! (Sorry to any Jamaica supporters reading!) Please please please review, it makes my day (no, really, I'm actually that pathetic) so don't make me get on my knees and beg!_

* * *

Radek Zelenka was in a bad mood. As if it wasn't enough that he'd been stuck running diagnostics on the Puddle Jumpers on his own now that McKay was tied up in the control room, two of the Jumpers he was supposed to be working on had been sent to the mainland. Yes, he had told McKay that he could cope on his own; he didn't want to give Rodney the satisfaction of thinking he wasn't quite up to the job, but he could have done with a helping hand, even though the absent Jumpers meant he had less to get through.

He'd analysed four ships already and was just about to start on a fifth when his datapad bleeped. He frowned, and flicked through the data that had just popped up on the screen. Looking concerned, he went back into the Jumper he had just emerged from, pulled open the hatch above the seats, connected his pad to some of the cables protruding from it and pulled out a control crystal. He flicked a couple of buttons on the pad and it bleeped again. His eyes widened in shock and he disconnected his pad and ran to another Jumper, hooking it up to the ship's controls. It bleeped a third time and he cursed in Czech. Pulling the tablet pad from its connections, he hurtled down the gangplank of the craft and ran off in the direction of the control room, and Rodney McKay.

oOo

"WHAT!" McKay hollered, startling everyone in the control room. "HOW?"

"I don't know", Zelenka said looking anxious. "It just started spitting those figures out."

"Lemme see." Rodney said impatiently, snapping his fingers and holding out his hand for Radek's datapad. Zelenka handed it over, and lost for something to hold, started wringing his hands.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me. What the hell is that?" Rodney yelled to no one in particular, gesturing wildly at the screen of the tablet pc in front of him. "Radek, what the hell did you do?"

"I didn't do anything, McKay." The Czech replied, fighting the urge to shout back. Rodney always blamed him if things went wrong, and he was on the verge of telling the Canadian exactly what he thought of him, when the radio of the control room crackled.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard."

"Go ahead, John." said Elizabeth, rubbing her temples as she listened to the two scientists squabbling next to her.

"Uh, we've got a little problem here on the mainland. The Athosian women's in labour, Beckett says he needs the incubator thing in the infirmary up and running stat, and a medical team on standby."

"I thought she wasn't due to give birth for a few days?" Rodney said looking up, distracted from his shouting session.

"Hence the problem, McKay." John replied sarcastically. Rodney glared at the control panel, despite it only being an audio link.

"And don't look at me like that, Rodney." John added, making the scientist look around cautiously as though he was being watched. Zelenka smirked.

"Alright, I'll contact the med labs, make sure they're ready for them." Elizabeth said, smiling at Rodney's confused expression.

"Thanks. I'll radio you when we're ready for take off. Sheppard out."

Rodney took this as his cue to start abusing his vocal chords again, Zelenka sighed and started muttering in Czech. Sympathising with Radek, Elizabeth went into her office to contact the medical team.

"Radek! Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, Rodney." said Zelenka through gritted teeth.

"Good. Well, I'm still trying to figure out what the hell's going on in the north-west section of the city, we've had power fluctuations occurring on all morning for no obvious reason, and now you've screwed up with the Jumpers – you know, I _knew_ I shouldn't have left you alone with them – you'd struggle to change a light bulb, and on top of all that, where the hell is my damn coffee?" Rodney shrieked, causing everyone in the control room to stare at him. It was amusing to watch McKay getting neurotic, as long as it wasn't you he was yelling at.

"Right next to you, Dr. McKay. In exactly the same place I left it ten minutes ago." said the technician Rodney had used as a tea-boy earlier. "As is the powerbar you requested. May I suggest that you eat it as soon as possible? Your hypoglycaemia seems to be making you a bit…edgy." He said with a sarcastic smile. Rodney glowered at him, snatched up the bar, checked the label to make sure that no one was trying to poison him with citrus products, and proceeded to devour it as though he hadn't seen food in weeks, washing it down with a long swig of coffee. Zelenka hid a smirk. When Rodney McKay comes face to face with any danger he becomes a gibbering wreck, but try to keep him from food and coffee for more than a few hours and he'll rip you to pieces. Not that you could call powerbars 'food'.

"Dr. McKay?" spoke up another technician cautiously.

"What?" snapped Rodney.

"I think you might wanna take a look at this." The young woman looked concerned. Rodney heaved himself to his feet as though it was the most tedious thing in the world, muttered something about having important things to do, and dragged himself over to the technician's terminal. He exhaled noisily, peered at the monitor and frowned.

"What the…?" He said to no one in particular.

"What is it?" Zelenka said, moving next to him.

"Decrease in water pressure." He replied. He turned to the technician. "See if you can isolate the source of the problem." The woman tapped some keys on her laptop and looked at Rodney. He screwed up his face.

"You gotta be kidding me. What the hell is up with you today?" He said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Um…who are you talking to, Rodney?" Zelenka asked.

"Atlantis! She's been temperamental all morning. If only Sheppard were here, he can usually sort her out. She always seems to respond to him. No idea why. Maybe it's just cause he's like that with women…" Zelenka coughed. "Ahem…I digress. Where was I? Ah yes. There's been a sudden drop in water pressure in the same section we've been having power anomalies. Something tells me it's not a coincidence."

"Unless the space monkeys got in again," the tea-boy technician said with a grin. McKay gave him a look of disgust and made a noise to match.

"I am surrounded by _idiots_." He said. Zelenka glared at him, but then thought better of it as he saw Elizabeth walking towards them. She nodded a greeting.

"Gentlemen. If Colonel Sheppard makes contact again, can you please inform him that the med team is on standby?"

"Um, yes Dr. Weir." Radek replied with a smile, as he pushed his glasses further up his nose. Rodney smirked quietly. Trust Radek to suck up to Elizabeth.

"Don't you have Puddle Jumpers to fix? We're on a time scale here, remember? New baby? Screaming mother?" McKay remarked. "Or maybe it's not such a good idea for you to do it seeing as what you did to the last one…"

Zelenka opened his mouth to respond, and then remembered that Elizabeth was standing next to him. He grabbed his datapad, nodded politely at Weir and marched out. Rodney chuckled to himself.


	18. Crunch

_Hello again, latest chapter. Sorry I'm taking so long, writer's block is an affliction I suffer badly from. Hope you like it, I'm trying to make them longer. Please review! It keeps my plot bunnies happy. Reviews are the carrots of my thoughts. (Uh oh. I'm going into weird mode. I'll stop now.)_

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Sheppard walked back towards the Jumper he had arrived in. He had just radioed Atlantis for Beckett and, like he promised, was about to move the Jumper closer to the village. _Anything_ to keep him out of the way of a pregnant woman in labour. Ronon had followed him out, obviously thinking the same thing. And was now waiting for him at the park site. He nodded in greeting.

"Teyla's asking the villagers to clear some space in front of the tent, shouldn't take long."

"Okay. C'mon, let's get this thing started up." John replied, opening the rear door and walking in. Ronon followed him in and sat in the co-pilot's seat. John touched the control panel, expecting the ship to respond to his touch. Nothing happened.

"Hmm. That's weird." He said.

"What?" Ronon asked.

"It's not working." He replied, pointing at the panels in front of him. "Nothing's working. Not even the lights." He realised that the Jumper hadn't automatically illuminated as he entered the ship like it normally did, responding to his ATA gene. "Everything's dead. It was fine when I flew it earlier."

"Try the other ship." Ronon suggested.

"Good idea," the Colonel remarked. The men exited the ship and entered the one parked next to it.

"That's better." John said as the lights sprung on at his presence. "Hey girl." He said to the ship, grinning proudly. Ronon rolled his eyes. They both sat down the way they had in the previous Puddle Jumper and John again touched the panel in front of him. The ship hummed to life, purring at his touch. It took off smoothly, gliding upwards for a few moments, before lurching sharply and tilting sideways.

"What the hell…?" John said, grabbing the side of his chair for support. "Hang on!" He yelled to Ronon, who had been thrown against the panel in front of him. John frantically pressed a few controls and the ship righted itself, but plummeted vertically towards the ground. It hit terra firma with a huge crunch, throwing dirt into the air.

Teyla, who had heard the Jumper take off from outside the tent, stared up at the dust cloud in horror, dropped what she had been carrying and started running in its direction.

Sheppard groaned and wearily lifted his head off the panel in front of him. He could feel liquid dripping down his forehead which he took to be blood, probably caused when he smacked his head off the dashboard. He rubbed his neck, unsure whether his pain had been caused by the crash or his Teyla-inflicted bruises from that morning. He glanced at Ronon who was slumped on the floor. He obviously hadn't hung on when he'd told him to. He looked as though he was unconscious, which was unusual as it normally took a lot of effort to knock out the guy. At that moment John saw Teyla run past the front of the ship, and opened the door to let her in. She dashed up the ramp and up to him, giving him a worried look.

"Are you alright, Colonel?" She asked, frowning at the blood that was slowly trickling down his forehead.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. But I think he's unconscious." He nodded his head at Ronon. Teyla knelt beside him and checked his pulse.

"He is breathing." She stated. He stirred and opened his eyes. He groaned, and Teyla helped him sit up.

"What happened?" He asked wearily.

"You must've whacked your head. You were out cold for a minute." Sheppard replied. He bent to help his friend stand with help from Teyla. They let him go and he wobbled and collapsed into the co-pilot's chair.

"My head's spinning." He said, uncharacteristically admitting he felt unwell.

"Me too. It'll pass. I'm gonna radio Atlantis and see what the hell's up with the Jumpers, and I suppose I'd better go see Beckett and tell him what happened."

"Not until I've cleaned your cut." Teyla said sternly.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." He said screwing up his face in protest. Teyla said nothing, fetched a medical kit and fished out a dressing. She forced him to sit down and tilted his head back. She dabbed at the cut with an antiseptic wipe, making John wince, and gently placed the dressing over the cut, lightly brushing her fingers against his cheek as she finished.

"Now you may leave." She said, giving him a warm smile. "I will stay with Ronon." John nodded and exited the Jumper, patting Ronon on the arm as he left.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard." He spoke into his radio as he walked.

"Back so soon, John?" came Elizabeth's voice. "I've radioed the med team, they're on standby for Eryn."

"Oh, good." John said in his most sarcastic voice, before he changed to 'hacked off' mode. "Get McKay on the line." There was a pause.

"What is it Colonel?" Rodney sighed.

"What the hell did you and Zelenka do to the Jumpers?" He asked.

"Whaddya mean?" Rodney replied indignantly.

"Well, one wouldn't work at all and the other barely stayed in the air for ten seconds before it crashed."

"You crashed it?" Rodney said, not sounding at all sympathetic.

"Yes Rodney. It was completely my fault. I decided to fly it straight at the ground for kicks. I'm fine, by the way." John replied through gritted teeth.

"Well, might I remind you that Zelenka and I tried to warn you not to take them out before we'd finished testing them, but _you_ decided to ignore that advice and take them out anyway. I'm amazed you didn't take a nosedive into the ocean and die or something.

"Thanks for that, McKay. Way to make a guy feel better."

"John? What happened?" Elizabeth sounded concerned, stopping Rodney from any more sarcastic retorts.

"The first one wouldn't respond to anything so me and Ronon went to the other one. It took off okay and then just flipped and hit the ground. Ronon was knocked out." He didn't mention his cut, Elizabeth always overreacted when he got injured.

"Are you alright?" She asked.

"Yeah I'm good, but there's no way I'm flying that thing again until I know it's fixed." He said. He knew he had to get back to Atlantis but he wasn't going to endanger the lives of three of his friends, plus a woman and her newborn child in the process.

"I agree." She replied. "We'll try and find out what's wrong but until then I don't want you taking off in either Jumper."

"Understood." John said. "I'm off to tell Beckett what happened. Sheppard out."


	19. Never

_Fear not, Major Lorne has returned. Thank you very much to my loyal readers and reviewers, especially my good friend Jade Xianghua (when she actually remembers to review...), Elizabeth Bartlett and Reefgirl. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! You are making my plot bunnies very happy._

* * *

Lorne had passed out for a few minutes from the pain. He'd suffered gunshot wounds in the past, but never as bad as this. The Wraith had shot him point blank in the thigh. The worst part was the look on the Wraith's face when it had pulled the trigger. Glee. A maniacal grin had spread across it's face when Lorne had screamed.

The Major wearily forced his eyes open, wincing as his wound throbbed.

"Perhaps now you will reconsider my offer." The Wraith said, still holding the gun, which was still pointed at the Major. Lorne shook his head weakly, ignoring his thumping heart and the agony coming from his leg. If anything, this had made him even more determined not to help the Wraith.

"Never." He whispered. The Wraith place the gun on a pipe where Lorne could see it. It was a threat. "Shoot me again. I don't care. I am _never_ going to help you." Lorne glared at it defiantly, not letting his pain show. He meant what he said. He would rather die than see Atlantis fall into the hands of those… creatures. The Wraith stared at him for a few moments. Lorne was unsure whether it was angry or not, it seemed very calm.

"Very well." It said. At that it abruptly turned and walked out of door. It stopped in the hallway and glanced back at it's incapacitated prisoner, before doing something to the panel on the wall outside. Lorne couldn't see what, but suddenly the door hissed shut, blocking out what little light there was and plunging the room into darkness. The last thing Lorne saw was the Wraith's smug expression. At that point, Lorne realised the water was now covering his legs so that it was now several inches deep, the Wraith must have burst some more pipes while he was out cold. There was nothing he could do – he was trapped and the water in the room was slowly starting to rise. He listened to the rushing sound it made as it bounced off the metal pipes above his head and fell to the floor below. His leg throbbed, seeping more blood into the water surrounding him. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply for a while, before allowing himself to drift away.

"No!" He suddenly yelled. He jerked himself awake and ignored the stabbing pains coming from everywhere conceivable on his body.

'You got yourself into this mess,' he thought to himself. 'You're gonna get yourself out. Since when did you give up that easily on anything?'

Lorne realised that he was the only one that knew about the Wraith, therefore he was the only one that could do anything about it. Summing up all the strength he could, he struggled to his feet. The Wraith had tied his hands behind his back, but they weren't actually bound to anything holding him down. He managed to stand, but almost crumpled again when a jolt shot down his leg. Determined to beat it, he stood up again and tried to get his bearings. He knew roughly where the door was, and remembered that the Wraith had forgotten to take his gun with him. He remembered where that was, and moved towards that general area, trying to unbind his hands as he went. Fortunately, the binds were somehow coming loose and Lorne jerked his arms to try and free them, forgetting that one of them may be broken. The pain caught him off guard, and he collapsed face down into the water. He swallowed some and it made him choke, but he managed to crawl to his feet, still spluttering. With one last effort, pushing the aching in his arm to the back of his mind, he got his hand free.

'See? Don't give up yet.' He said to himself. He reached up with his good arm and felt for his 9mm along the pipe. He found it and picked it up, suddenly feeling a whole lot better off. He checked the gun for rounds and realised why the Wraith had left it behind. No more bullets. He remembered that he hadn't changed the clip in the gun the last time it had been used, which just so happened to be a time they came into combat with the Wraith. Lorne had used up most of the bullets. Luckily, he'd brought a spare clip with him, and reloaded the gun. 'Now I'm one-up on you, Gordon.' He thought, cheering himself up a bit.

Unfortunately, he now had no idea where the door was. His leg was throbbing, but he couldn't feel the warmth of the blood seeping through the coldness of his wet fatigues anymore. "I gotta get out of here," he muttered.

Although it was still very dark in the room, he could now just about make out a few fuzzy shapes. There were the hulking masses of the metal pipes. They'd been on his left when he was sitting down, they were now directly in front of him. The door had been more to the right, so that's where he figured he needed to go. He moved slowly, trying not to crash into anything, and eventually found the wall. He felt around for the door panel, and started to panic slightly when he couldn't find it. Eventually, his hands discovered the door controls, and he sighed in relief. He slid his hand over the top of it, waiting for the door to open. Nothing happened. He tried again, and got the same response.

"Damn." He said. "Gordon, what the hell did you do?"


	20. Icky

_Thank you all for being so patient and continuing to read! Sorry it's taken a bit longer to update, (let's just say my plot bunnies aren't happy) but I hope you like this chapter!_

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"Aw, crap." was Beckett's response to Sheppard's incident report.

"Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought." John replied. "We're not gonna be able to get back to Atlantis for at least a few hours. Zelenka's working on the Jumpers right now, they still don't know why it happened."

"Well, Eryn will be giving birth very soon. I'd say we'll have a new baby within the next hour or so. I could use Teyla's help, if that's alright with you, son."

"Sure, I'll go get her. She's looking after Ronon."

"Are you sure you're both okay?" The doctor asked anxiously. John pointed at the dressing on his head.

"She did a good job. We're fine, concentrate on her." John nodded at Eryn, who was lying on the bed behind Beckett. "She needs you more than we do. We can take care of ourselves."

"Aye. Okay. If you're sure..."

"Doc! We're fine. Go help her, I'll be right back with Teyla." At that, John left the tent before Carson could stop him and quickly jogged off back to the Jumpers, his aching muscles from earlier in the day no longer bothering him. He had more important things to worry about. He returned a short time later with Teyla and Ronon. John thought it would be best if Ronon stayed somewhere they could keep an eye on him, in case he had concussion or something. Teyla had agreed.

On their way back to the village, John had asked about the father of Eryn's baby – he hadn't seen any Athosians other than Teyla with her the whole time they'd been there.

"Nevan is offworld assisting one of our trading partners with their harvest." She had replied. "He may not return for some time."

'Damn,' John thought. 'She has to do this on her own?'

When they reached the tent, Carson was in scrubs wearing latex gloves and protective goggles. He handed the same gear to Teyla, and held out a pair of scrubs to each of the men. Ronon looked at him with an expression that was a cross between horror and disbelief, and hastily retreated outside. Carson gave John a look that would have made a Wraith run for cover.

"I'm probably going to need an extra hand, Colonel." He said in an annoyingly-persuasive yet desperate-sounding voice. "It's been a wee while since I've done this."

John's face took on an expression that was similar to Ronon's.

"Uh…can't one of the Athosians do it?" He said, getting panicky.

"You won't be down here," the doctor replied with an impatient sigh, "you'll be up there." The doctor gestured at Eryn. "She hasn't got anyone to comfort her. I'd appreciate your help, son."

John decided that as he wouldn't be at the 'icky' end and that the young woman didn't have her husband to be there for her, plus the fact that Carson genuinely seemed to need his help (and he would never hear the end of it if he didn't), he might as well. He edged forward, giving the doctor one last uneasy look, before kneeling at the woman's side.

"Eryn," Teyla said, "this is my good friend Colo…John. He wishes to help."

The woman looked warily at John, who gave her his best reassuring smile. She nodded and grimaced in pain at another contraction. John exhaled and gently took her hand, glancing up at Teyla who smiled thankfully at him. He returned it and focused his attention on Eryn, who suddenly cried out.

Carson gave her a sympathetic look and injected her with a shot of Pethidine, muttering something soothing to her as he did so.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen," Beckett said, disposing of the needle a biohazard bag. "Here we go."

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_Again, I'm not so great on my pregnancy-labour-pain-killer-stuff so I hope Pethidine is right. Please review, it might make my plot bunnies feel better!_


	21. Strange

_Hello! Here's the next chapter! (See? I'm getting quicker) You may (or may not) be pleased to hear that I've pretty much finished this story now, so chapters will be going up even quicker! I hope you like this chapter, please review! And thanks to those kind, kind people that have reviewed so far! You make me and my plot bunnies very happy. See? Look at that. They're danging._

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Major Lorne breathed in and out deeply, ignoring the stab from his ribs with each breath. The water was somehow rising much faster than it had been, and was now up to his knees. He'd been trying in vain for half an hour to open the door, and his leg was throbbing again. Luckily, from what he could make out in the black haze, it didn't seem to be bleeding too heavily, however, the shot wasn't a through-and-through, so the bullet was still embedded in his thigh. On top of all that, his arm had begun to ache again. It was not going well. 

He had no idea where the Wraith had gone, but he had deduced that it wasn't coming back. He'd been toying with the idea of thumping on the door, but he didn't want Gordon to know he'd got himself free, and he was aware that no one other than the Wraith would be down here, so it was pointless.

"Come ON!" He hissed, resting his forehead on the wall from exhaustion. "There's gotta be a way outta here." 'Where's the light switch when you need it?' he thought. Suddenly, for few moments, he could see the brown colour of the door in front of him, and then it was gone.

"What the…?" He said. "No. They can't have." He frowned. He could've sworn the lights had flickered. "What did I do to make that happen? My head was against the door…looking for a way out…light switch!"

oOo

"Status report!" Rodney McKay called, not looking up from his screen.

"All access routes in the north-west sector are going into automatic lockdown, I'm still trying to bring up the pipe schematics but the water pressure's decreasing exponentially." replied someone.

"Dammit!" Rodney hissed. "Power levels?"

"Stable. No change in the past thirty minutes."

"Oh, well that's something at least…" He muttered.

"Wait a minute, there's some strange activity in one of the maintenance labs."

Rodney sighed, realising he was about to ask the same question he'd mocked the Colonel about some time in the past. "Define 'strange'."

"It looked like the lights flashed." The technician replied.

"Flashed? Like, on and off?" Rodney asked.

"Yes. They came on for a few seconds and went off again. Look! There it goes again."

Rodney looked. The technician was right. The lights were on in one of the rooms- now they were off again. Something was definitely 'strange'.

oOo

"Yes!" The Major said triumphantly as he managed to 'think' the lights on as they responded to his ATA gene. "No! Come on!" They'd gone off again. Lorne wanted to yell in despair but thought better of it. Gordon might be lurking outside. The water was creeping higher and higher, it was just above his knees now.

"I bet Colonel Sheppard would be able to turn you on if he were here." Lorne muttered darkly. In response, something above his head flashed and a shower of sparks rained down just beyond him, hissing as they hit the water.

"Alright, I'm sorry!" Lorne called, looking up at the ceiling. "Please?" He said nicely. If Atlantis were a person, she'd have snorted at his attempt at flirting. However, that nice man John Sheppard wasn't there, so he'd have to do. She complied.

"Yes!" He said with a grin as the lights finally stayed on. "Thank you." He added hastily, as something sent out a few more sparks. He looked around him. There were at least five pipes gushing out water, one of them had been completely pulled in two. He poked at the wound on his leg. It was still bleeding, but only a small amount, meaning the bullet hadn't severed his femoral artery. That, at least, was a plus.

As he glanced around, he noticed his gun holster at the opposite end of the room where the Wraith had left it. He went over to it, strapped it to his good leg, and slipped his gun inside it. As he looked up, he noticed something in the far corner of the room, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, almost completely hidden from view by a huge pipe. It looked like a ladder. He followed it up and found himself staring at a walkway that stretched right across the room to the other side, straight into the wall. Well, at first glance it looked like a wall. On further inspection, Lorne could see that it was actually a door. The walkway was completely invisible unless you were looking for it, it was made of the same type of metal the pipes were made from and blended into the background of the ceiling.

Knowing that he was pretty much out of options from where he was, he decided to try it, just to see if it left him any better off than he was. It couldn't get much worse. He almost slipped as he navigated through the water and around the pipes, but he finally made it to the ladder. The large pipe was leaking, so the steps were covered in water. It was going to be difficult to get up with his injury – the ladder looked even higher from the bottom.

"What the hell." Lorne muttered, and grabbed the ladder, heaving himself up each rung. It was more difficult than he'd thought and his leg was slowing him down. It was a high ladder and he nearly fell twice, but eventually he managed to haul himself to the top and onto the walkway. He staggered across it and came to the door.

"I don't suppose there's any chance of this one being open?" He asked to no one in particular, but to his surprise, the door hissed open to reveal complete darkness. He pulled out his gun and squinted, trying to make out any Wraith-like forms. He edged into the room and almost jumped when the lights sprung on. The ones in the room behind him went off at the same instant. Lorne stepped further into the room, and the door slid shut behind him.


	22. Kai

_Here's the next chapter, as promised. I hope you like it!_

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John exhaled, exhausted, and slid down next to the bed. It was over. Eryn's howls of pain had been replaced by the disgruntled screech of a baby. A baby boy to be exact. He felt guilty to be tired after not doing anything particularly strenuous, but holding Eryn's hands and helping her breathe through each moment of the birth had taken it out of him. Her screaming in his ear didn't help matters much either.

Teyla, John noticed in amazement, was absolutely fine. She didn't look remotely stressed or tired. He supposed that she'd most likely done this sort of thing before with other women in the village.

Carson, however, looked a bit worse for wear. He was almost as out of breath as Eryn was, and covered in a lot of gunge. It was quite gross.

'Thank God for scrubs.' John thought to himself, smiling weakly. Having experienced childbirth from such a close proximity, John decided that once was quite enough.

The birth, thankfully, had been quite quick, and once the Pethidine had kicked in, Eryn seemed a bit more comfortable. Carson was just checking the baby over, while Teyla helped wash the newborn and wrap him up in a blanket. John heaved himself up onto his knees and turned to face the new mother.

"Thought of a name yet?" He asked her, leaning over to gently dab her forehead with a cloth.

"Nevan and I like the name Kai." She replied, giving him a grateful look. "What do you think, John?"

He grinned. "It's a great name. Good choice." She nodded and smiled.

"Here you go, Eryn love. Your wee lad wants a hug from his mummy." Carson walked over to her and leant over to hand her the bundle of blanket he was holding. There were two bright blue eyes staring curiously out the top, and a small pink hand was trying to wriggle free. The bundle was no longer howling. He handed the baby to its mother and stepped back to give the pair some room. John did the same, and the men remove their scrubs. Teyla had already disappeared, presumably to deliver the good news to the rest of the village.

Carson went to pack away his medical equipment, and John slipped outside for some air and to give the new parent and baby some bonding time. There was a crowd at one end of the village, and John thought that it was Teyla, telling of the birth, until she appeared next to him.

"Hey, I thought you were over there." He said to her, nodding at the swarm of people.

"No, I have been over here speaking with Halling." She replied, gesturing to her right where the tall, bearded man was standing with his son Jinto.

"Then what's going on over there?" He asked, frowning.

One of the young Athosian children appeared next to John and tugged on his sleeve.

"The big man! The big man fell down! He's sleeping." The little girl said.

"Huh?" John asked, but Teyla tugged on his other arm and pointed. "Carson! Get out here!" John yelled over his shoulder to the tent, and started running in the direction of the crowd, who were surrounding a man that was lying on the ground with his eyes closed. John didn't need to see the man's face to know who it was. The familiar dreadlocks of his friend said it all.

oOo

"I _what_?" Ronon asked, giving a disgruntled look as he was prodded in the back of the head yet again.

"Fainted." replied Carson simply. "The knock to your head from the crashed Jumper must've caused you to have a funny turn. When we get back to Atlantis I want to check you over properly with a full body scan."

Ronon glared at John as though it was all his fault. John smirked and turned to jog back to the tent. He didn't want Eryn to be all on her own so soon after a traumatic experience. Carson could no doubt handle Ronon. Teyla gave the Satedan a warm smile, told Beckett she would return later and followed John back to the tent. She'd not yet had the chance to congratulate her friend.

When Teyla arrived, she was surprised so see that Eryn was sleeping, and Kai was not with her. The Colonel was also missing. She glanced around anxiously, and found what she was looking for. In the far corner of the tent sat John Sheppard, oblivious to the fact that she was there. In his arms lay baby Kai, fast asleep. John was grinning like a proud parent. Teyla smiled, unsure whether to disturb them. John, however, suddenly noticed her presence and glanced up at her sheepishly.

"Hi." He said. "I was uh...just…" He shrugged gently, trying not to disturb the baby. "She was asleep." He stated. Teyla nodded, still smiling, and went to sit next to them.

"He seems very content with you." She said.

"Yeah. Dunno why." The Colonel replied, grinning again as the child hiccupped in his sleep.

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_I'm not very good at writing births so I thought I'd miss that one out! By the way, in case you're wondering,I think the name Kai is Hawaiian and means 'The Sea' which I thought was appropriate for Atlantis!_


	23. Out Of Order

_Ugh, this website! I've been trying to get this chapter up for 2 days! Thanks to Reefgirl who suggested I use notepad instead of Word, it worked! So here you go, long overdue, I know. Please review!_

* * *

"Aha!" Radek Zelenka yelled to the empty hangar. He'd been working solidly on trying to fix the Puddle Jumpers all morning, and he'd finally made progress. He'd come to the conclusion that whatever they'd been doing to interface the cloaking device power output with the shield generator, had been to the dislike of the Jumpers. He'd realised that the Puddle Jumpers that had been taken out were the ones he and Rodney had experimented on the night before to determine whether their theory could be done. Unfortunately, he hadn't realised it until _after_ the Colonel's one had crashed.

Zelenka had been recalculating all of the equations he and Rodney had worked out the night before in order to reverse everything they'd changed, and had finally come up with answers that worked.

He tapped his radio. "Rodney?"

There was static for a moment before the Canadian, who if possible was more irate than usual, answered.

"What is it, Radek?"

"I've fixed the Jumpers." He replied.

Radek could visualise Rodney's face lighting up on the opposite side of the city.

"Well what are you waiting for?" He snapped. "Get up here and show me!"

Radek rolled his eyes, unplugged his datapad and walked to the cockpit of the ship. This time he was taking no chances. He pulled out a piece of paper, a roll of masking tape and a marker pen from his pocket that he'd managed to steal from Kavanagh earlier. He wrote a message and signed his name, and taped it to the window of the ship. Walking around the front of the ship to make sure it was clearly visible, he smiled. The window now read "OUT OF ORDER."

oOo

Rodney, satisfied at Zelenka's calculations, had smiled for the first time in an hour.

"Well done, Radek. It's good to see that you aren't completely incompetent."

Radek had rolled his eyes but ignored the comment. Elizabeth was hovering.

"Colonel Sheppard?" Rodney said into his radio.

"Ssshhhhh!" Came the reply. "Are you out of your mind?"

"What?" Rodney said indignantly, raising his eyebrows.

"He's asleep and you almost woke him up!" John hissed. "Is he okay?"

"What?" Rodney asked, completely confused.

""I wasn't talking to you!" John snapped. Rodney was taken aback.

"He is fine, John." came Teyla's voice.

"Who? What?" Rodney spluttered.

"Kai!" said John and Teyla simultaneously.

"Who?" Rodney practically yelled.

"The baby. Will you shut up? He's barely an hour old and already he has to put up with your incessant screeching. Jeez, McKay." Rodney could almost hear John's eyes rolling.

"Baby? You mean the baby's been born already?" The Canadian asked, sipping his fifth cup of coffee.

John considered a sarcastic reply and then decided he couldn't be bothered.

"Yeah. A boy. His name's Kai."

"John?" Elizabeth asked. "I thought Carson was going to let us know when the baby was born?"

"Well, he had other things to deal with."

"Like what?" She frowned. It was not like Carson to forget something like that.

"Ronon fainted."

The control room winced as they were covered in a spray of coffee. Apparently, Rodney found it amusing. Elizabeth frowned. She, fortunately, had escaped the drenching, however Radek had not. He glared.

"He must have whacked his head more than we thought." John added. "Carson's gonna check him over when we get back."

"Oh! That reminds me, Colonel. We've managed to fix the Jumpers." Zelenka coughed. "Well, Radek _thinks_ he has." Another glare from the Czech.

"Good." John said. "Any chance we can come back some time soon?"

"Well, if Radek's calculations are correct, then yes. I don't see why not." Rodney replied.

"Great. What do I need to do?"

oOo

John was pleased with himself. Radek had taken him through each instruction step-by-step, and the Jumper that originally hadn't worked had just sprung back to life. 'Remind me again why you didn't join Mensa?' He asked himself smugly.

"Colonel?" came Teyla's voice from the rear of the ship, interrupting his thoughts. "Dr. Beckett says Eryn and Kai are ready to depart now."

"Okay. I'll come and help in a sec. How's Ronon doing?" He asked.

"He is fine. A little weary perhaps, but Dr. Beckett thinks he will be alright."

"Good. Get him on board, I'll go help the doc."

Some time later, Sheppard, Ronon, Teyla, Carson, Eryn and Kai were on board the ship. The doctor's equipment had all been loaded, and Teyla had said farewell to her people. The villagers had invited them all to return for a special ceremony which was traditionally held when an Athosian baby was born. John had accepted, and promised to negotiate Nevan's return in time for the celebration.

"Atlantis, this is Sheppard."

"Go ahead, John." Elizabeth replied.

"Jumper One is good to go."

"Glad to hear it. Have a safe flight."

"We'll do our best." He replied, before smoothly navigating the Puddle Jumper into the air.


	24. No Sound Or Sign

_Another Lorne update! I have completely finished this story now so I shall do my best to get the last chapters up asap. I hope you like this one! Please please please review, it makes me dance around my room with joy. (Though last time I did that, I scared my goldfish...)_

* * *

Lorne couldn't believe his eyes. The room he'd entered wasn't a room. It was a hallway. It was the hallway he'd first walked down this morning – it seemed like such a long time ago now. More importantly, it was the hallway that led to the transporter. 

He glanced back at the door, and wondered how he'd missed it when he'd first walked down there. It seemed so obvious now – the doorframe stood out so much from the rest of the design. At the opposite end of the hall he could see the stairs he first went down. He looked around, aware that Gordon the Wraith might be lurking nearby, but there was no sound or sign of his presence.

Lorne limped in the direction of the transporter, putting the twinges from his leg to the back of his mind. It took him longer than he hoped, but he finally reached the transporter. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and to make sure there was still no sign of his captor. Satisfied, he opened the door and stepped inside. He reached up and touched the navigation panel, which flickered. He frowned as nothing happened, and touched the panel again. Nothing happened again. It wasn't moving. The Major realised with dismay that he would have to walk to the opposite side of the city in order to raise the alarm. With a sigh, he summoned up what strength he had left, and walked away.

oOo

"Dr. McKay, someone is trying to access a transporter in the north-west wing!" Shouted a technician.

"What!" McKay yelled. "Who?"

"I'm not sure." The young woman replied.

"Well switch on the life-signs detector!" The irate scientist snapped.

"The power outage is disrupting the sensors."

"Radek, make yourself useful!" Rodney barked at his colleague, who after fixing the Puddle Jumpers, had nothing to do except watch as Rodney blew yet another fuse. Zelenka sighed and moved to a terminal.

"Give me a moment." He muttered.

They were interrupted at that moment by the arrival of Colonel Sheppard and the rest of the team from the mainland. Everyone stared in amazement as John made his way up the stairs, or rather, at the bundle he was carrying. John was smiling, and holding baby Kai close. Eryn, Carson and Ronon weren't with them, but Teyla followed close behind, chuckling at the Colonel's unusual behaviour.

Rodney raised his eyebrows at Sheppard as Elizabeth emerged from her office.

"It's good to see you in one piece, you two." She said, smiling broadly at the pair.

"Three. Meet baby Kai." He said, nodding at the baby in his arms.

"I thought he was supposed to be in the infirmary?" Rodney said.

"He was, but Eryn wasn't feeling all that great and Ronon fainted in the Jumper again. Carson wanted him checked out right away. He said that Kai was fine for now but would need to be taken to the infirmary later." John replied.

Elizabeth nodded, and then frowned at Teyla, who had stopped half way up the stairs. Her expression had changed dramatically.

"Colonel!" She shouted. He gave her a puzzled look. She looked panicked.

"Teyla, what is it?" He said, concerned.

"I am sensing something. I think there may be a Wraith in the city." She said desperately.

"Sensors are up!" Radek yelled from the control room.

"Focus them on the north-west pier!" Rodney shouted.

"Elizabeth, take Kai." John said, handing her the baby. She seemed like the type that could handle it.

"Picking up two life-signs from that area." Zelenka said.

"I sense only one Wraith presence." said Teyla, who was now at the top of the stairs.

"You mean there's someone alone down there with that thing?" Sheppard said, sounding anxious.

"Looks like it. I can't tell which one's the Wraith and which one's human." Rodney replied.

"Well, the good thing is that they're not too close together. John, I trust you've already got a team ready?" Elizabeth asked, still holding the baby, who was fast asleep, completely oblivious to the frantic activity around him. John nodded and tapped his radio.

"Major Lorne?"

There was no reply.

"Lorne? Come in, this is Sheppard."

"Maybe he doesn't have his radio with him." Rodney piped up.

"He had it with him in the Jumper bay, that's how he called me." John replied.

"No he didn't." Radek remarked. "He used the Jumper communications. He wasn't wearing a radio."

"Try a city-wide announcement." Rodney suggested.

"It will not help." Teyla said. Everyone looked at her.

"Why not?" The Canadian asked.

"It is Major Lorne who is with the Wraith. I can sense it's thoughts. It has injured him."

"Get a med team on standby." Weir ordered. Someone in the control room complied.

"Why isn't Lorne using the transporter?" John asked.

"It's not working. The power fluctuations have disabled it. He's stranded down there." Rodney answered.

"Then what the hell are we waiting for? Teyla, you're with me. Ronon…dammit. What a time to faint. Okay, get Stackhouse, Cadman and Hansen down there, full gear. Teyla and I will go now." Rodney turned and spoke into his radio.

"I want you two kitted out first." Elizabeth said.

"There's no time! Lorne's stranded down there! He could be badly injured. Look, backup'll be there soon, but Teyla and I can handle ourselves." John was almost pleading with her.

She gave in. "Pick up a P-90 each on the way." She wanted Lorne safe – they'd lost too many good people on this expedition, she wasn't about to lose another.

"Let's go. Look after Kai until I get back." He replied. She smiled at his concern for the child. He didn't seem the fatherly type. Rodney appeared next to her.

"Backup's on the way. The transporter should take you there but it won't bring you back until we can reroute power back to that section." He said. "Good luck, Colonel."

John nodded and he and Teyla ran down the stairs, stopping to speak to the two gate guards. They nodded and unclipped their P-90 machine guns, handing one each to their CO and Teyla. The guards pulled out their hand guns as the pair jogged off to the nearest transporter.


	25. Only A Matter Of Time

_Second last chapter! More Lorne goodness! Please please please review. Not meaning to sound desperate or anything (well,not much) but I love getting reviews!_

* * *

Gordon looked at the smears of blood and drops of water on the floor and smiled. He'd been tracking the Major for some time, ever since he discovered that the man had escaped from the maintenance room. He'd purposefully let him get free from his bindings. He knew about the ladder, and where it went. He also knew the gun was empty, and that the Major would try and use it on him when he caught up with him. It would not be difficult, Lorne was slowed by his injury. When the Major realised that his weapon was empty, it would be too late. The Wraith's appetite would be satisfied, and his plan could still go ahead. The malfunctioning transport device had seen to that – a stroke of luck in the Wraith's favour. The human had not been able to call for help. It was only a matter of time. 

oOo

Lorne froze. He heard something. He didn't need to turn around to know that he was being followed. The noise had come from just around the corner behind him.

"Damn." He muttered. "Looks like the party's about to start."

It had been an odd noise, the sort of squeak that rubber-soled shoes make on a shiny floor. Then he realised that he'd been dripping water the whole time from his drenched fatigues. He'd probably left a trail, which the Wraith had just slipped on. That thought, at least, gave him something to smile about, as he ducked down another hallway.

Somewhere behind him, the creature that had been following him cursed silently.

oOo

"Okay, we're here. What's their status?" Sheppard whispered into his comm.

"We got a problem. For some reason the sensors are down again. We can't see a thing from here." Rodney replied over the radio.

"Understood." He replied, deflated slightly, before remembering something he picked up from the Jumper when they landed. "Good job I brought this then." He muttered to Teyla, holding out a portable life-signs detector.

She smiled. "If you can locate them I may be able to determine which one of them is Major Lorne." She said quietly.

"Okay. Remember, think before you shoot. It might be Lorne. It's difficult to tell cause it's so dark." John didn't want the lights to alert the Wraith of their presence.

She nodded, and moved off to his left, surveying the area around them.

"Sir?" John's radio crackled softly.

"Go ahead Cadman." He replied.

"We're right behind you." She said in a hushed voice.

"Okay, keep your distance. If it moves, make sure it's not Lorne before shooting, got it?"

"Yes, Sir." The radio fell silent.

oOo

"Looking for someone?" Lorne said as nonchalantly as he could, while leaning against a pillar. His leg was killing him.

The Wraith, who'd just stalked past without noticing him, stopped and growled. It turned to face the Major and smiled as it saw the gun in his hand.

"Are you gonna let me in on the joke?" Lorne asked.

"Your weapon is useless. You are about to meet your fate, human."

"I thought we agreed that you were gonna call me 'Lorne'?" He replied smoothly. "And why would you think that this is useless?" He brandished the gun but still kept it pointed at his attacker.

"It is empty."

Lorne smiled and pulled the trigger. The gun clicked, but no bullet discharged.

"Well, it looks that way, doesn't it, Gordon?" Lorne said casually.

The Wraith took his coolness to be masking his fear, and stepped closer to him.

"But…" Lorne continued. "If I do _this_…" He flipped the safety catch off and waved the gun around. "Not so useless now, huh Gordon?"

"Your weapon is still empty." The creature replied, puzzled at the human's attitude.

"Not so much." The Major replied, and fired. The Wraith hissed in anger and pain as a bullet lodged into his shoulder from across the hall. Lorne gave it a cold smile.

"Hurts, doesn't it?"

oOo

John and Teyla sped into action when they heard the gunshot. The sound had come from a few hallways away and reverberated off the walls around them, but Sheppard had the life-signs detector with him, so he knew which way to go.

"Cadman, Hansen, Stackhouse, keep your distance. Provide cover for me and Teyla. Do not fire unless ordered." John said into his radio as he ran.

"Understood, Sir."

"Lorne, I hope to God that you're the one with the gun." He muttered.

oOo

"Your weapon was empty!" The Wraith screamed.

"If I learnt one thing whilst training for the military, it's always make sure you have some sort of backup plan. In this case, it was a spare clip of bullets." Lorne replied coolly, still leaning against the pillar. More for support than for effect.

Gordon charged at him, but it was useless. Lorne had a full clip and he used it. The Wraith fell to it's knees, secreting its dark, sticky blood from each bullet wound.

"Come on, Gordon, you're making a mess." Lorne said. The Wraith snarled at him, summing up the last of it's strength to fight back. Lorne allowed it to clamber to it's feet and step towards him. Behind them, the Major could see Sheppard and Teyla in position to back him up if necessary. It was good to see them, but he wouldn't need it.

"One shot left." He said as Gordon stopped three feet in front of him. He raised the gun and fired. The Wraith crumpled to the ground. It was followed shortly afterwards by Lorne, who gave up his fight to cling to the pillar for support. He'd forced himself to stay conscious so he could finish things with the creature, but had been in agony throughout the whole ordeal.

Lorne saw his CO running towards him, almost in slow motion. Sheppard kicked the Wraith out of the way and knelt beside him. Teyla was on her radio. The last thing he remembered was a searing pain in his leg, before everything went fuzzy and all he could see was black.

* * *

_So, did I do well with Gordon's demise? Please tell me!_


	26. Smell

_sad music so here it is, folks. The last chapter. And probably my favourite chapter too. But thank you very much to all of you who have been patient enough to read (and review) this story, and I'm glad so many of you have given it a positive response._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

He was rudely awakened by the sound of indignant screeching and a rather unpleasant smell. 

"Will you stop wriggling? I need to get this done!"

Hmm. That was the voice of Sheppard.

"Kai! Stop it."

'Kai?' Lorne thought. 'Who on earth is Kai?'

"Sheppard, it stinks. Get it the hell out of here."

Ronon this time, from the other side of the room. He sounded groggy.

"Oh come on, it's just a baby." Sheppard sighed.

'Baby?' Lorne thought. 'Ah. Mainland. Pregnant woman. Baby.' His brain finally switched on. He now realised what the smell was.

'I'd be screaming too if I smelt like that.' He thought to himself, screwing up his face.

"Major! Is that a look of disgust I detect?" Dr. Beckett appeared next to him, grinning cheerfully. "Isn't the wee lad cute?"

"If it sounds and smells like _that_, 'cute' isn't the word I'd use, doc." Lorne replied, struggling to sit up.

"Hey! Is it 'pick-on-Kai' day today or something?" Sheppard said, as indignantly as the child's screeching.

"Why are you so protective all of a sudden, John?" Asked Elizabeth as she walked through the door with Teyla.

"I just think it's a bit unfair that you're all picking on him when he's too little to fight back." John said, almost pouting. Teyla raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway, how are you feeling, Major?" Carson said, looking back at Lorne.

"Not bad. Apart from the gaping hole in my leg."

"Ah yes, well it'll soon heal. You're very lucky it didn't sever your femoral artery, otherwise you wouldn't be here at all."

"He seemed to handle himself well, considering. Right, Major?" Sheppard grinned at him, as he held up a not-so-smelly infant. The offending object however, was still in the room.

"Oh my GOD, _what_ is that _smell_? Why won't it shut up?" Rodney McKay shrieked as he walked into the infirmary.

"Hey! Leave the little guy alone!" John replied, standing up and rocking the child gently. To everyone's amazement, Kai stopped yelling and John was left half glaring, half grinning smugly at the crowd of people in the infirmary. John turned to Lorne.

"Wanna hold him while I get rid of that?" John pointed at the object Rodney was staring at in horror. Lorne gave his CO a similar look.

"I believe Eryn is awake, Colonel." Teyla said. "Perhaps she can spend some time alone with Kai." She glanced at Lorne, who sighed in relief, and smiled at the Major.

"Sure. You wanna take him?" John replied. She nodded and gently lifted the now sleeping child from his arms, and left the room. The baby never even stirred.

"Major, when you're feeling up to it, I'd like you to brief us on what happened back there." Elizabeth said to Lorne, smiling warmly.

"Sure." He replied. "As soon as the doc lets me outta here." He said, glancing hopefully at Beckett.

"Not a chance, son." He replied scornfully. "You lost a lot of blood. At least two or three days rest in here before I'll even consider letting you leave." Lorne shrugged at Elizabeth, who smiled. Carson walked over to Ronon, who had fallen asleep, to check on his vitals.

"I hope you feel better soon, Major." She said, patting him on the shoulder and leaving through the same door Teyla had.

"Yup, you sure did a great job down there." John spoke up. Lorne looked at him in horror, suddenly remembering.

"The water! It's flooding!" He said, panicking. "Gordon! He's trying to flood the city! The pier, it'll be-"

"Relax." John said, resting a hand on his shoulder. "While the med team were checking you out, I sent Hansen, Cadman and Stackhouse to take a look around. They found the burst pipes. McKay and Zelenka managed to shut the water off before anything worse happened. It seems our little Wraith visitor didn't do much damage. The water's been pumped out of that area and the power's been fixed. Everything's fine." Lorne nodded. John suddenly gave him a puzzled look.

"Who's Gordon?"

Lorne blushed slightly. "I uh, I named the Wraith Gordon." John flashed him a grin. "Gordon. I like it." John's radio crackled.

"Colonel Sheppard, I need your help in the Jumper Bay. Jumper Two still isn't functioning correctly."

"Oh man. I was there like ten minutes ago." John said, rolling his eyes at Lorne. He tapped his earpiece. "Okay, Dr. Zelenka, I'll be there in a minute." He turned to Lorne, who was giving him a questioning look. "There was a problem with the Jumpers on the mainland, we crashed one." Rodney smirked from the corner of the room.

"You mean _you_ crashed one. You were the one flying it."

"Whatever, McKay." Sheppard replied, rolling his eyes again, and turned to Lorne, who chuckled. "See you in the debriefing."

"Yes, Sir."

Sheppard started to walk out the door. He stopped in the doorframe and turned to look at the Major.

"Oh, and Lorne?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Next time you go exploring, take your goddamn radio." He flashed a grin and disappeared from view. Lorne smiled and nodded.

"Ugh. Someone is gonna have to get rid of _that_." Rodney piped up, pointing at the smelly object in the corner of the room.

"That can be your job then, McKay." Sheppard called from wherever he was out in the hallway.

"Not a bad idea." Carson said, walking back over to them from Ronon's bed and winking at the Major. "Come on, Rodney. You can't leave it in here with my patients, it's a health and safety risk. Out you go with it." Rodney spluttered.

"But, but it's not mine! It's Sheppard's! He took it off, he should have to clean it up!"

"Rodney, no arguments. I want that thing out of here. When's your next check up?"

Rodney eyed him suspiciously. "Next week."

"Next week!" Beckett said in delight. "You know Major, I was planning to start the extra shots next week. People are getting sniffles here, there and everywhere. Rodney! You can be the first recipient."

"But that's not fair, Carson! You're giving me a choice between shots or _that_!" He said, pointing at it and looking very worried.

"He's a clever lad, that one, wouldn't you say so Major?" Carson grinned.

"Yup, I'd say he catches on pretty quick, doc."

At that, Beckett patted Lorne on his good leg and left the room.

"I mean it, Rodney. I want it gone by the time I get back." He said as he passed the Canadian.

"But! But!" Rodney stammered. "CARSON!" He hollered

"McKay!" Lorne and a newly-awoken and disgruntled Ronon shouted in unison.

"Shut up!"

* * *

_And don't forget to review!_


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